Syria: rebel commander 'still waiting' for CIA guns

The Syrian rebels' top commander said today "we are still waiting"
for American weapons to arrive three months after the White House promised
to arm the opposition.

General Salim Idris, the head of the Free Syrian Army, denied reports that US guns had reached the battlefield.Photo: AP

4:21PM BST 12 Sep 2013

General Salim Idris, the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), appeared on US radio to flatly contradict claims that CIA weapons were beginning to reach the battlefield.

"We were waiting and are still waiting to receive weapons and ammunition and we told our friends in the US that we hope you will support us," Gen Idris told National Public Radio.

He also condemned the Russian initiative to oversee the destruction of Syria's chemical arsenal, telling Time that President Vladimir Putin was "a terrorist" and "a liar" for supporting the Assad regime.

The commander directly denied claims by anonymous US officials in the Washington Post, who said that light weapons had begun moving into Syria two weeks ago.

Gen Idris said that while his fighters had received bullet-proof vests, light vehicles and night vision goggles there had been "no direct military support".

He added that his fighters were most in need of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, which Washington has been reluctant to supply out of fear they would fall into the hands of extremists.

The US has always officially refused to comment on weapons supplies and some have speculated that the CIA is restricting its arms to a small circle of vetted fighters.

President Barack Obama reportedly told Republicans senators last week that a rebel unit trained by the CIA in Jordan was en route to the battlefield but that claim has not been independently confirmed.

The US decision to arm Gen Idris's troops has two objectives: to help them counter regime forces but also to bolster the credibility of the moderate rebel leader as he vies for power against extremist groups also opposed to Assad.

The Sunni Gulf Arab states have been freer in their supply of weapons to Islamist groups, leaving the moderate rebels sometime struggling to attract support.

Gen Idris said the US decision to hold off on strikes had made it "very difficult" to maintain morale and that his forces had been poised to attack regime troops as soon as the cruise missiles struck.

"Our people are very frustrated and they think that our friends will leave us alone," he said.